Measuring Migration Distances: Self-Reporting and Indirect Methods

Abstract

Methods of determining distance covered in migration are discussed. "Two approaches for doing so are simply to ask movers how far they moved or to infer distance from localities of origin and destination. The former has been used in Health Interview Surveys, and the latter is applied to Current Population Surveys; both are national surveys conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The two approaches appear to produce consistent results and offer ways of increasing comparability of data and research findings on geographical mobility."